POPULAR CULTURE AND MEDIA - Los Angeles Mission College

POPULAR CULTURE AND MEDIA

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter you will be able to do the following.

? Define popular culture.

? Identify the three major theoretical views on popular culture: Functionalist,

Critical and Interpretation.

? Define Interpretive Communities.

? Define Class distinction.

? Evaluate claims for Authenticity.

? Define the 'Sleeper Curve.'

? Define mass media.

? Apply theories of media to US society.

? Describe how perpetual discontent is used by advertisers.

? Describe editorial strategies used by the media.

WHAT IS POPULAR CULTURE?

The idea of popular culture is one that is undoubtedly very familiar to you. You

probably consume lots of media content in the form of music, tv, movies and the

internet. The sociologically fascinating part about this is the ubiquity (that is, it is

everywhere) of the mass media and our popular culture. Everywhere you turn you

will find ads, billboards, clothing, screens of various sizes to rest your eyes on. But

how often have you critically analyzed this omnipresent socializing force in your

life? What meanings do people attribute to popular culture? What are the patterns

to these interpretations? What effect does this powerful institution serve? These

are some of the topics we¡¯ll discuss below. But as we do, think about your favorite

artist or TV show or movie and see how the concepts we¡¯ll go over help explain its

appeal to you.

So, to start, we¡¯ll need a working definition of popular culture. Popular culture

refers to the aesthetic products created and sold by profit-seeking firms operating in

the global entertainment market.1 You¡¯ll notice from this definition that culture itself

is designed to be sold and consumed for profit globally. This is why summer

blockbusters like Battleship or the latest Transformers movie follow predictable

formats that often involve clearly defined enemies (good versus evil; human versus

alien, etc.), minimal dialogue (for instance Arnold Schwarzenegger as the terminator

only utters 147 words in Terminator), and lots of explosions, fights and car chases.

Movies designed this way will attract the largest audiences possible because the

content has been simplified and translates easier to any language for the overseas

markets. One thing to remember when thinking about popular culture: it is

ultimately (despite how we as audiences might perceive and consume it) designed

to make money. To make the most money possible means to make the sure-fire hit,

the blockbuster film with uncontroversial content. The end result of which is a

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predictable and standardized formulaic product (this by the way is true of most

popular culture content, not just movies).

HOW WE MAKE SENSE OF POPULAR CULTURE: THEORIES

There are usually two components to the study of any popular culture: the

perspective of the culture creators (for profit mass media companies, individual

auteurs, filmmakers and artists) and the perspective of the consumers (you and me

and other audiences). Sociologists look at this issue from both perspectives and

somewhere in between. Do musical notes, lighting schemes and articles of clothing

carry meaning embedded within them? Or do we interpret them symbolically and

derive meaning from our own experiences, backgrounds and selves? The Critical

Theorists (who take their cue from Marx and conflict theory) say that the mass

media is an industry and designed to indoctrinate and subordinate the masses

(audiences) into passivity and acceptance of the capitalist mode of consumption

through our popular culture consumption2. Why challenge the normative order

when you¡¯ve got an iphone to pacify your discontent? Sure unemployment rate is

high and those in the middle and lower social classes are still reeling from the great

recession but at least we have youtube and the like. The critical theorists maintain

that we literally buy into our own domination through the popular culture we

consumer which ultimately supports the status quo and capitalism itself.

According to the Functionalists however, the purpose (or, function) of culture is

not so sinister and self-serving after all. Instead, they argue that popular culture

serves the same purpose culture has always served in societies; it is the social glue

that binds together members of that social group and creates feeling of solidarity and

group cohesion3. In societies characterized by what Durkheim called mechanical

solidarity this was easy; the numbers were low, the division of labor was less

complex and the focus culturally was already on the society4. Where the

functionalist¡¯s explanation is useful, is in using this same idea to explain the way

large, diverse and heterogeneous societies like ours are held together. Think about

the way contemporary collective rituals¡ªhigh school football games, parades, pep

rallies¡ªserve to forge emotional bonds of recognition, identity, and trust within

communities and social groups5. It is through these events that we (re)establish our

connections to one another. Sharing the same popular culture allows strangers to

communicate in public with one another. Have you ever struck up a conversation

with a stranger simply because they were wearing your favorite team¡¯s jersey? Or

you favorite band¡¯s logo on a t-shirt? Knowing the same logos and sharing the same

norms allows us to feel connected to strangers and creating a unifying feeling

amongst those who know.

This feeling of emotional connectedness to others manifests in what sociologists call

emotional energy6. Emotional energy is that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when

hanging out with good friends or engaging in stimulating conversation with

classmates or professors. This is one of the reasons we maintain relationships with

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others, including imagined others who also enjoy the same popular culture we do.

Have you ever been to a Dodger, Lakers, or Kings game (any home team sporting

event) and felt oddly connected to the total strangers around you? Maybe after the

game-winning home run or three point at the buzzer to win the game you stood up,

simultaneously with the tens of thousands of others attendees and cheered, highfived and hugged those you (even the complete strangers)? Or have you been there,

singing or chanting along with hundreds of other concert attendees to your favorite

artist¡¯s favorite song? This intense form of emotional energy can only come from

large groups of people with a shared focus (the athletes participating, the singer

singing, etc.) and it is what Durkheim called Collective Effervescence7. Collective

effervescence is the reason why we pay money to hear music we already have or

attend the game we can watch for free on tv. Like all popular culture, it is inherently

social and its meaning comes from others, not embedded magically in the celluloid

of movies or the ones and zeroes of an mp3.

Finally, the interactionists focus on the way that we use popular culture to make

sense of ourselves but also emphasize how others shape our tastes, values and

ultimately identity. Have you ever noticed that your friends tend to like similar

music, sports and tv shows as you do? Is this simply a coincidence? Interactionists

would argue that it is not and that this is indeed evidence of the interaction between

our individual tastes and our peers'. Depending on the popularity of your name

when you born you may find many others with your name or very few. But what

influenced your parents when they named you? Chances are those around your

parents shaped your parents' attitudes towards particular names and away from

others. We call these groups of people that tend to interpret, understand and enjoy

popular culture in similar ways as interpretive communities. Therefore,

interpretive communities are consumers whose common social identities and

cultural backgrounds (whether organized on the basis of nationality, race, ethnicity,

gender, sexuality, religion, or age) inform their shared understandings of culture in

patterned and predictable ways8.

One of the most important ways interpretive communities play out in everyday life

is in determining taste and consumption. Taste can be defined as a preference for

particular fashion, movies, music etc. Though we think taste, and therefore 'good

taste' is universal, it is far from it. There are varied beliefs about what 'good music'

is or isn't, what is fashionable and what is not depending on which interpretive

community we come from (you'll notice all black clothing in the goth subculture is

desirable but not so much in any other interpretive community). What we prefer

then determines at least in part, our consumption, how we receive and make sense

of popular culture. Do you suppose that what we prefer to consume has anything to

do with what is available to us and also what those around us consume? Think

about your favorite foods. It is likely that you grew up eating them or your friends

eat them. We are heavily influenced by those around us.

Several decades ago the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu analyzed French culture

in terms of how important distinction from other social classes was9. Since then

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sociologists have used this analysis to understand social class and popular culture in

America. In the early days of the United States there wasn't much distinction

between people in terms of their social class. Indeed, since the U.S. was so new

there wasn't yet an entrenched upper class and there was certainly no aristocracy

like in Europe. No, these Americans mostly immigrated with little to their names.

But it wasn't long before entrepreneurs and robber barons began to accumulate

wealth they also sought ways to distinguish themselves from the lower social

classes. This process is called boundary maintenance and it serves as a method to

keep lower classes out and maintain the exclusivity of the upper classes. As would

come to define the U.S. in the twentieth century and beyond, the main course this

took was purchasing goods and services that those without money could simply not

afford. Buying things to show that you can afford to spend money came to be known

as conspicuous consumption (status displays that show off one¡¯s wealth through the

flagrant consumption of goods and services, particularly those considered wasteful or

otherwise lacking in obvious utility)10. Sometimes this meant purchasing a large

mansion with a large guest house for the servants even though you had a family of

four. Whatever form it took, its purpose was not utilitarian but rather status

oriented.

Over time, these habits, tastes and values of a certain social class become

entrenched as cultural capital. Cultural capital is one¡¯s store of knowledge and

proficiency with artistic and cultural styles that are valued by society, and confer

prestige and honor upon those associated with them. This knowledge is passed down

generational and learned through socialization. Each social class develops skills and

values that help their members survive in society. But, not all cultural capital is

created equal. Are these the droids you're looking for? If not, you may not share

that bit of cultural capital! So, the 'correct' social capital is important because it can

literally be transmitted into social advantages and even financial wealth.

The interesting part about conspicuous consumption was that the upper classes

took great pains to dissociate themselves from the lower classes while the lower

classes tried desperately to emulate the wealthy through their buying patterns. For

a brief time, average Americans came close to having similar standards of living as

the upper classes. Fueled by television commercials extolling the virtues of

consumption of commodity items to indicate status this could only last so long. The

upper classes with their considerably larger bank accounts were able to afford

things the middle and working classes could not.

The financial sector had the answer to this newfound dilemma in the form of

consumer credit and credit cards. Consumerism became our way of life during the

twentieth century fueled by easy access to credit so much so that by 2011, consumer

debt had ballooned to $2.43 trillion and the average household carried an average

credit card debt of $15,79911.

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THE SEARCH FOR AN AUTHENTIC IDENTITY

By the 1960s the consumer lifestyle was in full swing. For the first time in the

nation's history there was material comfort and infrastructure for popular culture to

flourish. It came to the point however, for America's youth that middle class life

and consumer goods seemed boring and bland and the desire for something new

was growing stronger. Since middle class suburban existence seemed vanilla,

subcultures offered an alternative; they offered a promise of the real deal. This

drive for authenticity paradoxically helped to further fuel consumerism. For those

who didn't like the youth culture on tv or the radio could turn to alternative sources

for youth culture that prided themselves on being authentic by their opposition to

mainstream banality. So buying the right goods could distinguish one and foster a

'unique' identity. How unique can your store-bought identity ever be?

The other notable paradox inherent in the search for authenticity is its elusiveness.

Authenticity can refer to a variety of desirable traits: credibility, originality,

sincerity, naturalness, genuineness, innateness, purity, or realness12. The thing

about authenticity is that it can never be truly authentic, instead must always be

performed, staged, fabricated, crafted or otherwise imagined. The performance of

authenticity always requires a close conformity to the expectations set by the

cultural context in which it is situated. Once again we see others' perceptions as a

crucial element in popular culture.

POPULAR CULTURE IS GOOD FOR YOU?

You've probably hear popular culture disparaged. Maybe you yourself have

disparaged it. But is it all bad for us? Clearly popular culture comes in many

varieties and flavors and some perhaps more so than others promote values some

might find objectionable, but to what degree, if at all, is the popular culture of today

making us smarter? According to Steven Johnson, author of The Sleeper Curve,

popular culture is doing just that13. Through increased storyline complexity (more

multithreading, several storylines at once that pick up and subside for a time but

always return later), decline of flashing arrows (obvious references designed to clue

the viewer in to what's about to happen) and video games that provide a mental

workout (not unlike a good math problem), the popular culture of today is forcing us

to become more intelligent. Of course, this says nothing about the coarse and

sometimes off-putting content of popular culture (which again, is more a matter of

taste and which interpretive community you belong to than some objective

indicator of goodness), but as sociologists we're not trying to ascertain the essence

or 'true meaning' of popular culture but instead how people interpret, understand

and make sense of popular culture.

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